Last Friday my team (5280 Closers) and I presented to the judges all that we did in Project #2- The UMB Homeless Challenge! As before, we were given instructions from our friends at the alumni house regarding what were were to do that day. We were instructed to go to UMB Bank Downtown Denver to the third floor at 9:00 a.m. where the main bank headquarters are. I woke up somewhat rested, and was glad to live in close proximity to several coffee shops in the Capitol Hill area, as I was able to stop and get a life-saving cup of joe to start my morning.
I must say, I had never been in such a corporate environment before (UMB Bank Downtown). I got lost in the parking garage! I couldn't tell which level I was on or where the elevators were. As I attempted to find the elevator that would take me to the main lobby, I thought to myself that it would be nice to see how people dress and act in such a professional environment. When I got to the lobby, everyone I passed smelled of fresh perfume or cologne. The lobby itself was as clean and ready for the day as the professionals who walked through it.
Initially I didn't see anyone I recognized from the Apprentice Program, so I just got on an elevator. Little did I know the elevator I got on only went to floors 30-40 (or something like that). I realized this after the doors had closed and I was already sandwiched between two guys who were busy discussing their upcoming weekend trip to the slopes and another very well-dressed and poised blonde woman. I waited until everyone got off my elevator to return to the main lobby. I didn't panic, as I had left early in the day already preparing for some kind of usual morning disaster. I got off the wrong elevator and proceeded toward the Apprentice Challenge sign I had already seen in the lobby.
At this point I realized that UMB Bank had thier own set of elevators just for the first set of floors they were at. In the UMB elevators and then on the way to the room where I would meet up with my teammates, I couldn't help but think "Wow... I could soon be working in this kind of place- Lots of men and women dressed in suits, ties and heels." The thought excited me and gave me encouragement for the day.
Our team met in a small room on the 2nd floor, away from the other team. As I entered the room, I could sense the exhaustion from my teammates. "Did everyone get some coffee this morning?" ...The answer was a very unenthusiastic "No". I thought to myself "This is not good". I asked my teammates what time they finished our power point the night before. I'll just say it was a very, very late night for everyone. I had stayed at Noah's house with my team until 2 a.m. to help out- some of them were out longer. As we sat and reviewed our presentation slides, we waited to be called into the boardroom.
Soon the time came for us to go upstairs to meet up with the judges and the opposing team. I started to get a little nervous. I wondered how this presentation will differ from our last. Our SmartMeal Presentation was great! We were all enthusiastic going into the room and confident we were going to win. But this time things felt different for some reason. I couldn't really put my finger on it- perhaps it was the stress of the week and the stress of the project itself. As we entered the boardroom and sat at our designated seats along a very long rectangular table, I could sense the nerves in the room. Chris had come over from the A Team and shook our hands. "Good luck you guys" he said. I thought that was such a nice gesture- What a good sport! I wanted to do the same to the rest of his team, but everyone was already finding their seats and getting ready for introductions.
Soon after Josh from Alumni Relations introduced the judges and other officials in the room, we flipped a coin to see who would present first. The A-Team lost the toss up, and so our team decided to present second. We were told each team could choose two members who could "sit in" and watch the opposing team's presentation. I volunteered to watch along with my teammate Heidi. Our team left the room and soon, the A Team began their presentation. I was impressed with the work they did for their organization. The A Team worked with a non-profit called El Centro Humanitario (The Center for the Workers). They raised awareness in the Auraria Campus community through a Tool Drive. They spent their $500 well- They bought tools for the center that are usually not donated such as table saws, drills and other large equipment. I thought the work the A-Team put into the tool collection was amazing. They did such a great job organizing things! At the end of the presentation I was nervous. I had almost wished I hadn't watched their presentation because I knew we had to do better to win.
After watching their presentation, I thought for sure, they had the win. As we approached the front of the room though, I saw Heidi smile. "We got this... Don't worry" she said... I think she sensed I was nervous. Her warm smile and reassurance made me feel good. As our fearless leader Giedre stood up and introduced our team to the room, I began to feel a little bit better. After our presentation, I felt sooo relieved. I think I actually felt the pressure in my blood vessels release as we walked out of the boardroom. I took a big breath and smiled. We all knew we had done our best as a team and that if we were the winners, it would show in our question and answer session as well.
After a short break, we had our questions and answer session and spoke even more confidently than we had in our presentation. I have learned to love the question and answer session. It is a really great opportunity for the judges to ask us about why we did things a certain way. They can see throughout the session some of our team personality and uniqueness. I think a lot of our team cohesiveness comes out in the way we deliver our answers to the judges.
After the judges deliberated, the winner was announced. The President of UMB Bank announced the winner happily. "The winner of the UMB Homeless Challenge is..." I held my breath and crossed my fingers. "The 5280 Closers!" My eyes got big and I looked to my right at Noah. The look on his face was priceless! His eyes were big and he also looked amazed. We had won! YEAH!!!!! I was so happy ...and surprised. I thought both teams put the same amount of work in and it was hard to know the outcome. I now know that a surprise win feels so great and that I should never underestimate the power of my team to come together! My face lit up as I turned to look at my teammates on my left. We were all so happy.
Geri soon revealed our reward. We were all given Avalanche t-shirts and Altitude Sports ball caps. "Team 5280 Closers, on Tuesday night of next week, you will each get to invite a guest to join you to box seats for an Avalanche game at the Pepsi Center!" She said. Geri continued with "You will also receive a VIP behind-the-scenes tour of Altitude Sports media bus inside the Pepsi Center!" I flipped out! What a great reward! The last time I had been to an Avs game was about 8 or 9 years ago when the Avs were still playing in McNichols Sports arena. I had only been to the Pepsi Center for some Disney on Ice shows for the little ones in my family (actually, my dad wanted to go to Aladdin on ICE!~ lol... J/K!) Anyway, I was psyched! I couldn't wait to get home so I could tell Michael about our win and to tell him he was soon going with me to his first Avs game ever!
-E
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